


Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

by Porgalicious (Vyranai)



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: A light spattering of angst, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, BB8 is an Orca, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Kylo Ren Needs a Hug, Kylo is head tiger keeper, M/M, Multi, Rey is a petting zoo keeper, Romance, Tiger cubs - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, zoo au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-06
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-06 10:46:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15193103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vyranai/pseuds/Porgalicious
Summary: Rey loves her job at Organa's Safari Park. Caring for the animals, helping conservation efforts and highlighting the plight of endangered creatures, it's the best job ever. Every day is peaceful and predictable, and not to mention all her friends are just an enclosure away.Then she meets the new head tiger keeper.--A modern day rom-com where Rey and Kylo are keepers at a zoo, BB8 is a hyperactive Orca and someone has to do something about that Pygmy goat that thinks it's Houdini. Also: raising tiger cubs.





	1. Ben Solo Apparently Steals a Pygmy Goat

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god, I've started a Reylo fic. Well... I adore animals, and I adore Reylo? So... tada, a fusion! I hope all you guys like it! Kudos and comments would be very much adored.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please refrain from flinging the Pygmy goats.

“-and that, ladies and gentlemen, concludes our final talk of the day on Pygmy goats. Now, who feels brave enough to come up here and give this little cutie a love before I put him away for the night?”

A sea of small hands immediately shoot into the air. One little girl with blonde pigtails decides that one hand isn’t enough, thrusting both skywards with her eyes tight shut in hope. Rey smiles at their enthusiasm and calls the entire group forward, herding them into a sort of semi-circle in which she sits down before them on her stool. The little Pygmy kid in her arms bleats loudly, insistently into her ear.

One by one the children of various ages take a seat, watching with eager eyes as Rey beckons the first to her, placing the animal into the boy’s gangly arms with smiled instructions on how to hold it firmly, but gently. It’s nothing she hasn’t done a million times before. The petting zoo section of the park is calm, tranquil like a millpond. Especially at the end of the day when the animals sense that it’s almost time for the humans to go home and bed down for the night.

It’s been a quiet, but still rare day with no screaming children, faces dripping with snot. No snatching at the animals in their pens wit stubby fingers. No demands that they be able to take home a chick or two. And god forbid, no one has attempted to smuggle a guinea pig into their bag again.

And thank the Lord for small mercies that no one has tried to ride a pig like last year.

The little goat reaches the final child of the group, a chunky little thing in a Hulk t-shirt with stubby arms and an almost prominent scowl for a child barely over five.  Instinct warns Rey of trouble as the goat bleats loudly at the strong grip and twists sharply away, expelling a stream of brown pebbles from its rear all over the boy in an instant.

All at once, chaos erupts. Like a wild beast has escaped captivity, the children scream and scatter to the winds as the little goat is throw unceremoniously away from the screaming boy, making a mad dash for the entrance door which has been left ajar.

“No!” Rey squeaks, throwing herself to her feet with her eyes widening in horror as the goat forces itself through the slim gap and makes a break for sweet freedom. “No! Get back here-! Uh, that’s all folks! If you could leave quickly and quietly through the other door... Hope you’ve had a great day!”

“Your filthy goat just defiled my sons brand-new t-shirt!” the boy’s father accuses loudly, startling the chickens, but Rey ignores him completely and takes after the furry fugitive, making sure to slam the door behind her to dissuade any of the other animals from making a break for it also.

Couldn’t the parents _read_ the damn sign which stresses to keep the main door shut?! Honestly, why does she bother sometimes?

_Calm thoughts, Rey. Find the escapee and put him back in his cell. Mission accomplished. No one need ever know._

Immediately outside of the Petting Zoo exit is the emptying crossroads, the edges of the path plentiful with greenery and shrubs. After carefully checking through each bush and finding them empty, Rey’s groans descend into ones of despair. Leaving behind the happy and cheerful yellow sign covered with small animals, she heads right down the path leading towards the Reptile Cave.

Halfway down the path she spies a welcome figure in khaki shorts and a grey t-shirt who raises a hand in greeting. “Rey!” Poe grins as she skids to a halt before him, her chest heaving with exertion. Gods, she can’t quite recall the last time she’s had an escape of this magnitude. Not since Dottie the hell-chicken at any rate. “Have you – seen – a Pygmy goat?” she all but pleads, eyes still scanning the path behind and ahead. It _can’t_ have gone this far already!

“A Pyg-? Uh, no. Should I have?”

He’s been in the pool with BB8 again, that much is certain; Poe’s dark hair is still damp, resting against his head in a mess of short tangles. The roll of a suspicious wet towel under his arm is proof enough. “Tell me you didn’t jump into the pool again without clearing it with Maz.”

“Of course not,” he grins roguishly, adjusting his grip on the wet pile. “Maz explicitly told me not to.” An offhand shrug and lopsided grin is enough to fool most people, but not Rey.

“It’s dangerous! You’re going to get eaten one of these days” she scowls in the face of his blinding, winning smile. “And Maz will turn your leftovers into Poe sushi with some teriyaki sauce on the side.”

“BB8 loves me. I’ve been with him since he was a calf, Rey. Besides, Orca’s rarely attack humans unless provoked. Actually, there has been more documented attacks on humans by dolphins than Orca.”

Rey never could fathom how one worked with aquatic creatures, let alone choose to jump into the pool and _swim_ with them. Sure, the sea lions are fun when they’re in the mood to play ball, and the dolphins are cute from a distance, but BB8 the Orca? A huge beast that can kill a Great White Shark if need be? No thank you. Poe’s promises that he is in fact a huge baby and would never hurt her won’t improve her fear of water at any rate. She’s much better with the small animals; safe and secure, no chance of being eaten alive or injected with venom or stung or pinched or –

“Look,” Rey presses as Poe begins to talk about a new attack by dolphins near the Florida Keys that very month, “I’ve lost a Pygmy goat. _Please_ help me find it before Finn comes round with the feed? He’s had to watch the meerkats today with Hux because they keep escaping through the slider in their enclosure into the aardvark one.”

Poe snickers, tugging an emerald leaf from the low-hanging tree above him and blowing it off his palm in her direction. “What got Hux out of Reptiles? I thought the man was part lizard? Or Bullfrog with how he swells up when you call the salamanders ‘flamboyant lizards.’” He smirks at the memory of the pale man slowly turning purple, spluttering out a long and detailed explanation as to how salamanders and lizards differ ‘utterly and completely, you ignorant boy!’

“Oh, Rose called in ill this morning. Flu.” Rey grimaces in sympathy. “She sounded awful on the phone.”

It’s never fun when a keeper falls ill. The other keepers rally together to fill in the space left, but no one can deny the added strain it causes a smaller zoo when one keeper is absent. Organa’s Safari Park is a well-oiled machine, each person perfectly suited for their chosen role. And when a keeper permanently leaves without warning, the gears can stutter if not stop completely. Like Connix when she’d promptly decided that working with the Siberian tigers to be nothing like she’d been expecting and couldn’t deal with the early mornings and stress with food preparation.

What _had_ she been expecting? To cuddle up to them at night? Stroke them and pet them on the head, perhaps? It’s laziness, pure and simple. Just because one _likes_ tigers and has a zoology degree does not mean that person is dedicated enough to care for them every single day, to devote their entire _life_ to the care and welfare of the animals in their charge.

Urgh. The more people Rey meets, the more she likes animals better.

A loud bleat suddenly echoes behind the cherry tree, stopping the pair in their tracks. “Goat!” Rey cries happily, wasting no time in diving through the foliage in desperation, following the noise towards the back of an enclosure and jumping the low security chains. Ignoring the scratches to her bare legs and arms, she emerges onto a narrow stretch of grass. And promptly stops dead.

The little goat has been captured, but not by her. In fact, judging by the sight of short black sleeves and matching jeans, the goat has been captured by someone who doesn’t even have the right to _be_ this far behind the security chains.

“You… _Pygmy poacher!_ Kid kidnapper!” Rey shouts, advancing with a sense of purpose.

He’s stupidly tall and well built across the shoulders and waist. Strong enough to make Rey stop a healthy distance away just in case someone else decides to throw the poor animal today. Then her goat stealer turns to face her and Rey finds herself beleaguered with the need to blink twice; dark shades sit before his eyes, ebony hair falling in a shaggy wave around his face, kissing the strong line of his jaw. Gorgeous as well as broad.

But attractiveness aside, he has her goat in his arms. Should he run, Rey’s fairly certain that she’ll be able to knock him down with a good-ol rugby tackle to the knees.

 “Excuse me?” the man responds, scowl a perfect mirror image of her own.

“Goat grabber! Give him to me right _now_ mister or I’ll call security on you for sneaking where you’re not supposed to be!”

“I haven’t stolen your damn goat!” he counters, stalking over and all but thrusting the bleating creature into her arms. “If you are the keeper, perhaps you should have kept a better eye on it and not let it wander around outside of its enclosure!”

Rey clutches the wriggling goat for dear life, squashing it up against her heaving chest. The little bastard is going nowhere, of that she is positive. “He escaped! Accidents happen.”

“Yes, accidents,” the man says in distaste, shaded eyes moving down to the shiny badge on her green uniform proclaiming her as a keeper in the small animals sector. “Accidents happen when keepers are incompetent. When they do not fit the position. If it was a predator that had gotten loose from its cage, by _accident,_ would you still have acted like a child who has lost their favourite toy and accused everyone around them?”

Like a-! “I care for my animals. In fact, I care _deeply_ for the animals in my care! Who are you to question me, goatnapper?”

His lips curl into a sneer that twists the fine and elegant line of his mouth. “I don’t have time for this, Goat Girl; I’m late enough as it is.”

“Hey-!” Rey protests, but with a few strides of his long legs, the man disappears down the verge and back onto the public path. A huff and she redoubles her grip on the troublesome Pygmy and begins the march back towards the petting zoo.

 

-

 

“Oh thank God-!” Finn exclaims upon the sight of Rey, disgruntled and bedraggled from her struggle back through the bushes. “I counted the animals three times and was starting to panic when I couldn’t find the last one. Where’d it go?”

Rey pauses by the Pygmy enclosure and places the troublemaker down inside. Immediately the goat makes a beeline for the pellet trough and begins to dig in, bleating loudly. “He decided to shit down a kid’s t-shirt. Said kid then… catapulted him, more or less, and he scarpered out the open door. Then when I finally found him, he was in the arms of this huge goatnapper! Built like a gorilla with hair to match.”

“You’re kidding!” Finn sets aside the broom and shakes his head, brow furrowing a little; a few pieces of straw lie upon his shoulders, so Rey reaches over and brushes them away with a swipe of her hand. “Maybe he’d just grabbed the goat to stop it going anywhere dangerous?”

She stills at that. It’s so… stupidly obvious when Finn says it that casually. Of _course_ that’s what the man had been doing. Why would you try to kidnap a goat after all? Especially a male; they stank a vast majority of the time, especially if not castrated. 

Stars above she can be so stupid when it comes to worrying for her animals.

“I didn’t think… I saw him holding that bloody goat and my head just… jumped to the first conclusion.”

Finn reaches over and pats her twice on the back. “It’s been a long day, Rey. For all of us. You’ll never see that man again anyway.”

“It has…” she sighs, rubbing a hand across her forehead. “Are we any closer to a new head tiger keeper? Phasma has been bitching _all_ day about being away from her precious Jewel Wasps, and how she’s not made for such work.”

“Ha! Bit rich seeing how she enjoys feeding _live_ insects to those bugs of hers. And those goddamn Jewel Wasps give me the creeps… like they’re extras from the Alien movies with the whole zombie cockroach… thing.” Finn shudders, and Rey can’t help but agree wholeheartedly; the Jewel Wasps are freaky and disgusting in one whole package. Plus, they’re wasps. No one but Phasma likes _wasps._ Though Rey supposes there is Hux also. He seems the type since he thinks tadpoles _beautiful_.

“So, the tiger keeper?” Rey locks the front door of the petting area with a turn of the latch and silver key, taking it out and pocketing it to hang up later in the office. “Has Maz found a replacement that Leia approves of? It’s been a month after all. It _can’t_ be much longer.”

“Uh…” Finn glances over his shoulder towards the back door, checking it’s firmly shut. “I didn’t _mean_ to eavesdrop, but I think she has; I overheard her talking to Leia in her office earlier when I went to drop off the giraffe feed on the truck. Her window was wide open and I’m pretty sure I heard Siberian tigers being discussed.”

 _Oh thank god._ A regular schedule with nothing but the normal madness of the zoo would be a very welcome sight. “Did you hear a name? Anyone we know?”

“Nah. Didn’t want Maz to catch me snooping around. She says we’re never too old for a good ass-whupping.”

“Coward.” Rey stretches her arms high above her, groaning softly as her shoulders pop deliciously and relieve the aches in them. “I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.”

“Yeah. Say, you’re still coming out with Poe and me for a beer tonight, right? It’s Friday and Rose is already down and out.”

Rey grins. “Never miss it. You’re buying this time.”


	2. Ben Solo is Terrible at Health and Safety Around Pretty Girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Silencer.

Ben feels like a child once more. Leia’s office is still the same; the _exact same._ Everything from the neat piles of paperwork to the photos on the wall of her family. In fact, he is still up there also, but as a small child with much too big ears and ebony hair that sticks out at every angle as he clings to a tiger cub with a wide, toothy grin.

Of course she kept that photo. It makes him squirm uncomfortably to look at the old version of himself. Before he became so melancholy and regretful. Before Kylo Ren attempted to take over and swallow all that Ben Solo was up.

The office door opens with a click and his mother strides in, letting it close behind her with a _snick_. If one thing in this room has changed, it is his mother’s visage; the soft lines have given way to deeper ones, hair no longer dark but gunmetal grey. And yet, it suits her. The iron lady of the world of animal conservation.

No one speaks. Leia only looks up when she sets down her sleek black laptop and Ben holds his breath, waiting for the tirade he so rightly deserves.

But it never comes as her weathered and beautiful face splits into a wide and genuinely happy smile. “It’s been a long time since I last saw you in that chair.”

Ben twists uncomfortably in it. “A very long time, Mother.” Too long. Almost ten years at his last count. He flinches inwardly at the realization, disgust settling low in his stomach and gnawing at him incessantly.

He doesn’t deserve to be in this veritable paradise after what he’s done. Let alone this chair.

“Why the long face, Ben? This was your idea. If I recall correctly, you all but begged me to let you take this position.” Leia frowns, reaching across the table with a hand outstretched; he moves away very slightly, but enough for the message to get across.

“I never thought I’d end up back here,” Ben answers truthfully, hands gripping at his knees so he doesn’t end up tip-tapping his nails upon the table.

Leia tuts gently. “And why not? This is your home, Ben. This will _always_ be your home. It’s where you were born, where you are meant to be, basking in the sunlight along with those tigers you so adore. Your wild soul could never forget this place.”

“Snoke said the same.”

His mother is not an angry woman by nature, but a shadow crosses her face at his almost whispered words. “Snoke was a demon, Ben. He ensnared you in his web like a spider would its prey. You had no _idea_ what that man was doing behind the cover of his organization. I didn’t, no one did until you alerted the authorities as to what he and his cronies were up to.”

“I didn’t come here to talk about Snoke.” The fingers tighten almost painfully upon his knees. “Where is my uniform?”

Leia hands over the pile of forest green fabric, but catches him unawares as her palm finds his cheek and he freezes at her touch. “I’ve missed you. So has your father, though I know he doesn’t show it.”

“Leave it be,” he all but begs, her fingers seemingly glued to the roughness of his cheek as he cannot seem to make himself move away. “ _Please._ I’m going to change. See Silencer.”

The hand leaves his flushed skin and he dares breathe a sigh of relief. If Leia has heard it, she makes no comment. “She has missed you too; I see it in her eyes every time she sees your father and mistakes him for you.”

“She’s a tiger, not a person.”

“And you know as well as I do that they _do_ talk. Quite loudly at that. The language of animals is one our whole family speaks, Ben. Especially you.”

It’s nothing he has not heard before a thousand, million times. This… _gift_ with animals that his mother’s side of the family has cultivated for years, beginning with his grandfather, Anakin Skywalker. Anakin, the man who founded and named the Organa Safari and Conservation Park in honour of the man who gave him a second chance to work with animals. Ben doesn’t know much about the original zoo Anakin had erected, but he knows that it failed. A lot of animals died, and needlessly at that. He sees the parallels between him and his grandfather more of a curse than a blessing now; they’ve both made such terrible mistakes including animals. Especially the big cats.

Ben rises to his feet, shoving the chair back with a loud scrape. “I don’t know if I can hear them anymore, the cats. Or if they would even want to speak with me again.” He leaves with both his thoughts and tongue bitter, slipping his shades back on and almost rushing out of the door into the bright sunlight.

 

\--

 

His feet know the winding path to the tiger enclosure well. Ben gives them free reins as he walks through the place that will one day be his inheritance, though he far from deserves it.

Unlike Leia, the place itself has changed. The original animals are mostly dead or have been transferred to another zoo by now and he doesn’t recognize any of the animals as he passes the howling, snuffling or snarling cages. Even Raddus the old king of Lion Country is gone, felled by age or illness. A new lion lazes upon the former king’s rock, sunning his magnificent self in the low morning sun as it breaks through the thin clouds and hanging haze. _Caesar_ the sign reads when Ben pauses long enough to inspect the state of the pride.

He chuckles at that; an Emperor, a King in his own right, murdered by his own people. Ben wonders if one of the younger males fast asleep in a pile in the East corner is already planning an uprising, ready to nudge the current king – his own father – off his comfortable throne and take it for himself. The name is fitting but a little twisted if anything. Ben has a hunch that his father named the great cat.

Ben changes into the green keeper’s uniform in a cubicles of the public toilets rather than risk meeting anyone in the employee’s changing room and lockers, tucking his folded clothes carefully away into his backpack and slinging it over his shoulder. Then there is no excuse for his dawdling; the tiger enclosure lies just up the path.

As a child, Ben remembers his complete fascination with the big cats in particular; lions, amazing with their huge manes and the sheer grace of the leopards up their trees. His mother had even let him play with the cheetahs as long as his father was at his side. Though now Ben thinks about it as a grown man, he doubts that Leia had even known. This reeks of his father, of the man sneaking behind his wife’s back to entertain his young son as best he could.

That almost makes him smile. Almost.

But the lions, the leopards and even the cheetahs fell far short of just how he felt about the powerful beauty of the tigers. One glance of the haunted and fathomlessly deep eyes and bold stripes and it had been love at first sight.

The tiger enclosure is another rare place like his mother’s office; it stirs up emotions, deep and troubled as he beholds the sign proclaiming that he is about to enter the Tiger Temple. Huge stone pillars carved with tiger effigies sit either side of the gate, glistening in the morning dew. It reminds Ben of a past trip to India, of the shrines and brightly painted images of the holy tiger. Perhaps his mother knew of his love for symbolism, it wouldn’t shock him; the woman knew everything, after all.

But the enclosure is _big._ It’s massive, in fact. Far from the place that Ben remembers nigh ten years ago. His mother has expanded the cage vastly, giving the tigers within huge grounds to cover. When he steps over the wooden security bar, dumps his backpack and peers past the strong metal links, he sees the place now resembles a tropical rainforest with deep pools and numerous large rocks scattered around it.

Beautiful. Simply beautiful. Ben laces his fingers through the metal fencing, resting his head against it as he takes in every tiny detail. He’d gotten so very close to it the previous evening, but in the end he simply couldn’t find it in himself to visit before wearing the uniform. That and fate had intervened in the form of a Pygmy goat.

He doesn’t notice the sea-green eyes peering from within the foliage at first, but Ben feels the telltale prickle at the back of his neck that he’s being watched. And he knows that feeling well with tigers.

Silencer is the most magnificent tiger he has ever seen, even in the wild of India and Siberia. She saunters through the thick leaves like a white she-devil, slowly padding towards him with those wide and haunting eyes fixed firmly upon him. Ben takes in her dark stripes, stark in contrast with her snow-white coat. They have not dulled with time or age. Carefully, he falls to his knees, pressing his chest flat against the cage. “Hey girl,” he whispers as the tiger reaches him. “It’s been a long time. Missed me?”

A rumbling purr answers his almost tentative question, a large and furry cheek coming to rub against the spot where his chest is pressed, directly over his heart.

All at once, his fears and worries evaporate into nothing, drowned out by the vibrating concerto of purrs as Silencer continues to rub up against the fence in an effort to mark him thoroughly as hers. When Ben lets loose a startled laugh, the tiger chuffs in greeting. For now at least, he feels peace. Peace that only an old friend can provide.

“Hey-!” comes a sudden shout from somewhere behind him. “Get out of there right now! It’s not safe!”

 He knows that shout. The Pygmy goat from the previous day comes to mind, and Ben is not wrong when its keeper comes haring over with wide and fearful eyes. At least she’s not chasing a goat this time, but she’s still shouting at him.

Ben straightens up, turning around to face her. The girl’s dark hair is in three buns at the back of her head today instead of one large knot on the top of her head. She’s actually rather pretty in the golden rays of morning sunlight, freckles dark upon her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose. Such simple and elegant beauty, like the athletic lines of a cheetah.

 “Goatnapper? Is that you?” she asks almost curiously.

That bloody goat…

“Goat Girl,” he replies tersely, leaving Silencer behind as he steps over the barrier to meet her. “We meet again.”

Her eyes flicker between the sparkling new uniform upon his person to where Silencer sits, watching the exchange with her ears high and alert with interest. “You’re the new head tiger keeper, aren’t you?”

Ben nods once. “Yes. I’m… Ben.” He doesn’t offer his last name. He doesn’t need the girl to start fawning over the son of her boss just because she feels like she needs to.

The girl then breaks into a wide and beaming smile, thrusting out her hand for him to take. After a moment of hesitation, he does. “Welcome! I’m Rey. Look – I’m _really_ sorry about shouting at you yesterday about the goat. Of course you weren’t stealing him! Why the hell would you be? I just… thank you for grabbing him when you did. I don’t know what would have happened if he’d gotten into another enclosure, even a herbivores.”

Ben pulls back first. “It’s fine; it was a very unexpected end to a very unexpected day. Have you worked here for long? Petting zoo, right?”

Rey’s smile can’t get any wider, can it? “About six years now. So, uh… you like tigers?” She jerks a thumb over to where Silencer paces to and fro down the length of the fence, yowling softly. Then Rey winces, adding in a mutter “That’s a stupid question, of course you like tigers…”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Almost everyone. Snoke…

Fuck Snoke. He’s not here now.

“They’re beautiful,” Rey admits, throwing an appreciative glance at the magnificent bulk that is Silencer. “Beautiful, but utterly terrifying at the end of the day as all predators are. Though I’ve always loved the white tigers, even if they are technically aberrations of the orange ones.”

Ben glances between the young woman and the tiger that owns his heart, gesturing towards the animal with an outstretched hand. “Would you like to meet her? Silencer, I mean?”

Rey’s pretty eyes widen almost immediately and she takes a tiny step back at the mere mention. “M- Meet her? Inside the cage-?”

A deep chuckle, reminiscent of a tigers growl rumbles in his chest, bringing a familiar smirk to his lips. “No, not in the cage. Come-” Ben holds out his hand towards the frightened young woman, smirk morphing into an encouraging smile. “I won’t bite, and I’ll ensure that she doesn’t either. Trust me.”               

Slowly, carefully, her slim hand slips into his larger one and Ben gently tugs her over towards the security divide and over it in a few tall steps.

Rey is like a deer in the headlights when she kneels down at his side, staring into the cage with the huge cat just meters away. “She’s so much bigger up close,” she laughs weakly, hand trembling slightly within Ben’s palm.

“Keep your hand flat” he instructs quietly, pressing it against the fence with his own fingers sticking out over the top. “The fence is strong and she can’t reach you. And Silencer would never hurt me deliberately. I trust her enough.”

“Oh-!” Rey gasps, flinching sharply as Silencer’s attention turns to the pair of them once again, padding over and pressing her large nose against the fence, brushing both their hands curiously. “Oh my god, I’m touching a tiger. I’m going to die.”

“You’re not going to die, Rey.” What the hell is he doing? What the actual _hell_ is he doing? He doesn’t know this girl past her shouting at him. She calls him Goatnapper for goodness sake. And yet Ben feels a sense of accomplishment when Rey’s hand stops shaking beneath his own from fear.

When Silencer slips back into the jungle minutes later, he lets her go and they both sit back upon the grass. Rey’s eyes are still wide and positively deer-like when she turns them on him. “I just touched a tiger. A _real_ tiger! A white tiger! I don’t know whether to thank you or berate you for terrible health and safety practices.”

“The first one, please.” His mother will have a fit if she knows, of that Ben is utterly certain. And then she’ll send him to one of those completely dreadful health and safety courses when he already knows the protocol by heart.

Rey stumbles to her feet with shaky legs, throwing glances at the enclosure every few seconds. She seems in a daze, he thinks. It’s understandable after all, being frightening and thrilling all at the same time. “Then thank you,” the young woman tells him. Then Rey’s eyes fall on the watch at his wrist and she offers him an apologetic smile. “But now I have to go and open up the petting corner, deal with the little monsters of my own. That was amazing, what you did for me. Uh, really, it was.”

“It was my pleasure, Rey. You’re welcome to come and say hello to the both of us anytime, if you’d like. Silencer is very social.”

“Um, I will. Bye Ben!” Rey throws him a small wave as she turns and begins to walk away, offering a parting smile as she passes through the entrance. Ben just stares after her, hardly daring to believe what he has done.

Number one, it’s stupid to let anyone get that close to a tiger.

Number two, it’s stupid to let anyone get that close to _him._

What the fuck is wrong with him-? Does he want to end up in court _again_ on a matter that includes tigers once more? Silencer might be quiet and timid enough, but she’s still a large Siberian tiger. A claw could have come through the fence, cut Rey’s lovely skin. Teeth as long as Rey’s slim fingers might have found a way through the gap, and-

Ben shakes his head furiously, bringing his fist hard against the colourful sign listing detailed information about Silencer and Siberian’s in general; it doesn’t budge an inch, causing a sharp and sudden pain to shoot down his arm like wildfire. “Fuck-” he hisses, withdrawing it sharply and flexing his aching fingers. God, he’s such a huge fuck-up.

He doesn’t belong here. He doesn’t belong anywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Your enthusiasm for the first chapter both here and on Tumblr utterly blew me away! Thank you SO much for taking the time to read my little contribution to the Reylo trashcan, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter also and feel like leaving some kudos or a comment!
> 
> Until next time, lovelies!


	3. Ben Solo is Terrible at Being Anti-Social

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey has a visitor.

That night, Rey dreams of tigers and a man with shaggy black hair. He takes her hand and leads her through the shadowy jungle before them, numerous tigers at their sides. Upon reaching the edge of the jungle he lets her go and both he and the tigers vanish and Rey wakes up.

 

\--

 

With the appointment of Ben, life at the zoo returns to normal in just days. Phasma ceases her month-long bitching about leaving her beloved bugs and everyone breathes a sigh of relief when she returns to the Bug Kingdom quietly to await the birth of her beloved Jewel Wasps. There’s even more relief when Hux declares that he will never watch the meerkats again with ‘a simpleton whose expertise stretches only to the barn.’ That makes Finn exuberant rather than feel insulted. Poe congratulates him on earning the man’s hatred. Being disliked by Hux is a large club, far from exclusive, and Finn finally has a pass to join.

They dread the day Hux finally discovers the, uh, _club._

Rey doesn’t set eyes upon the tiger keeper until a week after meeting Silencer. For two days a part of her desperately wants to wander over to the tiger enclosure at the end of the day, but when she does, Ben is nowhere to be seen. The other keepers merely shrug their shoulders at her and say that he’s left already. Rey tries knocking off a fraction earlier so she can catch him, but still she never finds the man. It’s like he’s vanished into thin air and no one knows where he has gone.

Strange. Though Silencer never fails to greet her with a low chuff when she catches sight of the girl. Rey doesn’t venture any closer than the security fencing, but she does smile and throw a wave at the white tiger. If anything, she begins to visit the Tiger Temple simply to say hello to the tigers within.

 

\--

 

Ben doesn’t mean to dive into whatever hiding place he can find every time the girl comes around to find him, he just cannot quite figure out what to say to her. Does he fear her or like her? Ben isn’t quite sure of that either. Rey certainly awoke something deep within him, and now the blasted thing refuses to go back to sleep.

Again, Ben blames that damn goat.

Paige Tico’s frowning face makes him start badly when it pops around the doorframe. Ben sets down the clipboard with a low growl, the pen rolling off the wood and onto the floor. “ _What?_ ”

“Why are you avoiding Rey?” the young woman asks keenly, leaning against the doorframe with an eyebrow rising upwards. “Don’t deny it; every time she comes over from Petting, there’s something ‘very’ important that you have to do and you go into hiding and make the other keepers lie about where you are. She’s my friend and don’t bother lying; the others sold you out.”

Those little traitors.

“I’m not avoiding her.” He isn’t. Not really. “I’m busy.”

“I call bullshit. Is it because of who you are? You never leave the tigers, not even for your break. Are you allergic to being friendly? Or perhaps it’s because of your last name? Oh, don’t look so shocked!” Paige snickers upon spying his look of alarm, body stiffening at her words. “Leia keeps pictures on the wall of her office, and it’s not hard to pick you out. Y’know, ears and all. No offence! You were a very adorable child, Ben Solo.”

Ben throws her a look of sheer frustration. “Are you done yet? Don’t you have work to do?”

“Not even remotely,” Paige scoffs, folding her arms tight across her chest. “Stop avoiding Rey. If I know her as well as I do, she’s wondering what she has done to offend you.”

“She hasn’t done _anything_ to me. Go away, Tico. You are a terrible busybody, anyone ever tell you? Go back to your giraffes.”

“Nope. So why _are_ you hiding from her? I heard you both had a lovely… encounter with Silencer.”

He doesn’t want to know how she’s discovered that. “I’m Ben Solo, as you mentioned. That is reason enough, don’t you think?”

“Hmm, I don’t hold you responsible for those deaths, if that’s what you’re wondering. No one here does. It wasn’t your fault, Ben. Really, it wasn’t. Is this the reason you’re hiding? If so, it’s a stupid reason.”

He slams his fist down upon the table with a low snarl, eyes blazing with growing fury. “Go. Away. You don’t even know me! Not Rey, not you. _None_ of you do!”

Paige shrugs, taking a step back. “Fine, but don’t forget what I said. Laters, Keeper Solo. Don’t be like your tigers and stay solitary!” She raises a hand and offers him a single wave and a wink as she slips from the room.

Zoo gossip. He hasn’t missed that. Everyone all up in the others business, talking smack and making assumptions before they even knew any cold, hard facts. If Paige Tico from giraffes of all places knows who he is, who else does? Ben hasn’t ventured out of the Tiger Temple for a reason after all. He has kept to himself, keeping his head down as low as possible. Ben delegates the talks to his other keepers, sequestering himself in the kitchen of sorts to prepare the pounds of meat needed to feed the tigers throughout the week. After the preparation came the paperwork, and after that came even more work and feeding. At the end of the day when the public have gone home and the vast majority of keepers also, he finally decides to emerge and spend time with Silencer and the other tigers. Ben doesn’t see them as often as he’d like, but the fear of both he and his past being discovered…

Maybe Paige Tico is right? Maybe no one _does_ blame him for those horrific deaths? Well, anyone other than himself that is. Maybe he is shunning companionship for nothing other than self-flagellation.

Animals are so much easier to understand than people.

 

\--

 

After eating the hem of her jacket, then escaping into the chicken enclosure and eating all their food on top, Rey doesn’t use the problem Pygmy goat for the handling anymore. In fact, it can go to hell.

“Do people eat goat?” she huffs as she heaves the little rascal back into its pen, locking it up securely with a padlock this time; the goat isn’t fazed by captivity, nibbling at the metal immediately in yet another attempt to escape. “Because I won’t tell if you don’t. We’ll stuff the goat up your shirt and smuggle him out like that lady with the guinea pig last summer.”

“Rey, a guinea pig is a lot smaller than a goat. And she got caught at the gates.”

“What about the eating? Any diners nearby that would like to add goat to the menu?”

Finn places a hand atop Rey’s shoulder, the pair of them sharing a look before bursting into laughter. “Rey, goat on the menu?” he laughs, taking the keys from the padlock and slipping them into his breast pocket. “Really? There’s no meat on him! He’s Pygmy!”

“He’s driven me to distraction, Finn! We have to get rid of him somehow.”

“Maybe we should offer him to the Tiger Temple?” Finn snickers, casting a teasing eye over the troublesome goat. “Give them some live food to play with?”

Rey simply groans, closing her eyes as she pinches the bridge of her nose between her thumb and forefinger. “You’re getting more into this than I am. In any case, the tigers are not fed live food. That was outlawed years ago as unethical.”

“There’d be nothing left, Rey. Just saying. The evidence will be eaten.” He flashes Rey a wink and she slaps his shoulder good-naturedly in response.

It’s a slow day, as the middle of the week usually is. It’s the weekends that bring the most people from all over to the zoo. Rey enjoys the slow days. It gives her the chance to bond with the animals more, plus more time for food preparation for the day and the coming ones. On the slow days, she and Finn works on animal enrichment, cutting cardboard toilet rolls into castles for the hamsters and other weird and wonderful things like lamb hammocks. She gets to spend more time outside with the rabbits and teaching Finn how ferret racing works. He still thinks it more than a little hilarious, especially when one goes back the way it has come from. Or ends up down Rey’s t-shirt.

No one appears for the midday handling, so Rey and Finn take the free hour to get ahead with cleaning and preparation, comparing favourite movies for the umpteenth time. They’re all animal related, of course. Once they have exhausted that line of talk, they move onto another which ends up with Rey teasing Finn about his relationship with Poe, the head keeper from Marine World. He who dove fearlessly into the Orca pool.

“Yeah, uh…” Finn sets the broom down, perching upon the low door of the chickens. “Poe wants me to move in. With him, I mean.”

Rey’s eyes widen and she beams, genuinely pleased for her friend. “Really? That’s awesome! I’m so happy for you, Finn.”

Finn scratches distractedly behind his ear, avoiding Rey’s gaze as he stares at the floor. “Uh, I told him I needed some time to think about it. Moving in with him, it’s a big step. We’ve not been together that long in the grand scheme of things.”

“You’ve been together for over three years now. That’s not a long time-?”

“It is, I just…” Finn sighs heavily, screwing his eyes shut for a moment as he pulls the broom into his hands and begins to twirl it distractedly. “It’s getting serious, y’know?”

“Do you want to move in with him? You already spend more nights there than at the apartment. It’s just the natural next stage.”Rey cannot deny that Finn and Poe are a perfect match. They encourage each other in the best ways possible. It was love at first sight upon that first meeting, Finn having transferred from another, smaller zoo and landing the Petting area when Rey requested another hand. In those early days of Rey working at Organa’s Safari, Poe had been kind enough to give her a lift home in his car every night, cementing their lasting friendship. When Finn came along, that friendship only evolved into an even greater one. Quite frankly, Rey’s family _is_ the zoo.

Finn thinks for a long moment before nodding slowly. “Yes? I do?”

“Then why don’t you tell him that?” God, she is such a hopeless romantic when it comes to her friends.

“But what if I ruin everything?” Finn suddenly comes out with, swallowing hard. “I’ve never done this before. The whole moving in thing.”

“Finn.” Rey reaches out and takes his hand into her own, smiling comfortingly. “Poe hasn’t either.”

He squeezes her hand, small smile appearing. “That’s true. I’ll talk to him, promise. Gotta head over after this shift anyway; did you know he was jumping into that damn pool again with BB8 even after Maz warned him not to?”

“I had no idea!”

“Liar,” Finn chuckles, gently pulling his hand back. “You need to stop smiling so awkwardly when you lie, it gets you every single time. This is why you are so lousy at poker.”

“Hey! I’m not lousy, you and Poe cheat.”

“Whatever you say, Rey. Whatever you say.”

Before Rey can open her mouth, a soft knock sounds upon the inner door and they both turn at the noise instinctively. At the sight of who it is, she merely stares for a long moment before smiling, a weight on her heart lifting. Maybe he _hasn’t_ been avoiding her after all?

“Oh! Ben!”

The tiger keeper doesn’t look at all comfortable with where he is. Rey reads animals and people like an open book, and Ben positively screams that he does not want to be here. That stings, but she ignores it as she walks over to him. “I’m sorry,” he apologizes when she stops just before him. “You’ve been around so often my fellows tell me. I’ve been… busy.”

Rey shakes her head, dismissing his apology. “It’s okay. It’s your first week after all. If anything, _I_ should be apologizing for coming over to pester you so often. You must be so busy…” she shoves her hands into her pockets, grimacing slightly. “I forget that other keepers have a _lot_ more work to do than us.”

Finn steps over, looking between the pair with a friendly smile. “Hey,” he greets Ben. “So you’re the tiger guy, huh? Rey hasn’t shut up about you and Silencer for a week, and I’m holding you personally responsible. She’s become a tiger facts dispenser.”

 _Oh god, Finn._ Rey takes a deep breath, praying that no red appears in her cheeks. Finn, for god’s sake-! “Yes, he’s the tiger guy. Uh, Finn, this is Ben. Ben, this is Finn, my fellow keeper and good friend.”

With a nod, Finn holds out his hand and after a moment’s hesitation, Ben takes it briefly. “Have you worked here long?” Ben asks politely, eyes lingering on Rey for a long moment until he blinks and turns his gaze on the other man.

“Long enough, but not as long as Rey. We’re starting to believe that she was born here. How long have you worked with tigers?”

Ben pauses. It doesn’t go unnoticed. “All my life. My parents… are big animal lovers. Especially the big cats. I was exposed to them from birth.”

Finn lets loose a low whistle of admiration. “You’ve been around them since a kid? Gotta say, I’m jealous man. I wasn’t even allowed a goldfish when I was young.”

“Yeah,” Rey mutters under her breath, “because you’d end up killing it.”

“Like you did?”

“I was seven!”

Ben clears his throat, looking noticeably nervous. “I can come back later?”

“No!” Rey all but yells, making Finn stare at her like she’s grown another head. “I mean… well… maybe at the end of the day? If you’re able to now with all the work?”

Silence, then “I am. I’ve caught up on the backlog left by the previous keeper and the others can handle things in my absence.”

“Great,” Rey replies weakly. “Coffee at the Jungle House at six, then? That gives me enough time to finish clearing and locking up. That okay for you? I mean, if you’d like to come that is?”

“That’s… fine. Jungle House. Six. Coffee.” Ben nods, dark eyes sweeping over the expanse of the stalls. “I’ll see you later then, Rey.” He inclines his head at Finn and leaves without another word.

“Don’t say it,” Rey groans the second the door shuts with a snap and Finn begins to smirk.

“Say what?” he replies in a sweet tone. “That you’ve got the hots for Tiger Guy? God Rey, you never told me he was so hot. And _broad._ Roses sister has been on about him all week, but I thought it was all talk. Is he always so moody and quiet?”

“Pretty much. I thought he was avoiding me after I made a fool of myself in front of him and the tigers last week.”

“Well, the dude accepted your coffee date. That doesn’t scream ‘I’m avoiding you’ to me. From what you told me, the guy was acting out that scene from Ghost, but zoo style. And with tigers.”

Rey squeaks, eyes widening as she takes a step back. Back from Finn, back from his pointed words. “It was _not_ like that! He was showing me the tiger, that’s all. Nothing happened, and nothing will happen. And it’s _not_ a date! Don’t you dare get telling Poe anything, because then he’ll tell Paige and then everyone will know and make assumptions. It’s just coffee.”

“Hey!” Finn holds up his hands in surrender. “My lips are sealed! It’s not a date! It’s just a chat with a tiger guy!”

Grabbing the broom and raising it threateningly in Finn’s face, Rey’s eyes narrow. “Now help me finish tidying up.”

Seriously, it’s _just_ coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are so awesome and sweet with your love for this fic both here and on Tumblr, thank you so much! On another note, our problem Pygmy goat needs a name. Any suggestions? 
> 
>  
> 
> Also, come and have a chat or prompt me something Reylo at [ My Tumblr!](http://thelastmorozova.tumblr.com)

**Author's Note:**

> If you're not squeamish, you should definitely check out videos about Jewel Wasps. Specifically how their young is born. It's Alien territory, dudes. I'm not kidding. Complete with zombie cockroaches. (Yes, really!)
> 
> Come and scream about Reylo with me or prompt me something at [ My Tumblr.](http://thelastmorozova.tumblr.com)


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